Eggs (Poached)

Instructions

1. Eggs for poaching should be fresh, but not new-laid, or the whites will not set. A stale egg will not poach; the best are about thirty-six hours old.
2. Strain boiling water into a deep, clean frying-pan.
3. Break the egg into a cup, without damaging the yolk.
4. When the water boils, gently slip the egg into it, keeping the cup over it for half a minute so as to gather the whites together.
5. Keep the water gently simmering till the white looks nicely set — two and a half or three and a half minutes — then take it up gently with a slice.
6. Serve on toasted bread, or on slices of ham on spinach.
7. Never do more than four or five at a time in a frying-pan. If liked, mix one tablespoonful of vinegar into the water you poach in, allowing one pint of water for an ordinary-sized frying-pan.